Controversy surrounds the upcoming Thaipusam festival in Penang as local Hindu leaders urge the Chettiar community not to yield to the demand by a statutory body to change the silver chariot procession route.

The leaders want the Chettiars, the procession organisers, to maintain the route which has been used for the past 150 years.

Currently, the police permit for the annual procession is issued to the Chettiar community trust fund – the Registered Trustees Nattukottai Chettiar Temples Penang.

According to Chettiar trust fund secretary and procession organising chairperson Dr A Narayanan, the Penang Hindu Endowments Board demanded a change for this year’s procession route.

However, Hindu Action Network (HAN) chairperson G Mugunthan, United Hindu Religious Council (UHRC) secretary K Balakrishnan, Penang Makkal Sakti Welfare Association (Pemaswa) chairperson G Asoghan and the board’s former assistant secretary AK Suppayah have ticked off the board for interfering in Hindu affairs.

The board wants the chariot to make a reverse first day journey from Kovil Veedu to the nearby Mariamman Kovil in Lebuh Queen to pay homage to Goddess Durgai Amman first before resuming its routine journey.

Since the inception of the procession in 1852 by the Chettiar community, the chariot has stopped at the Mariamman Kovil only during its return journey from Waterfall to Kovil Veedu on the final and third day of the Thaipusam festival.

Until now, on the first day of the festival, the chariot procession has begun from Kovil Veedu and then straight to the adjacent Lebuh Victoria.

No right to interfere

Being a government statutory body, the board and its appointed agents - such as the Mariamman-Balathandayuthabani endowments management committee - have no right to interfere in Hindu religious affairs, said Mugunthan.

"Article 11 of the federal constitution clearly stipulates that religious affairs of a community, except that of Islam, will be managed by the respective communities, he added.

Referring to the board's governing statute – the Hindu Endowments Ordinance - he said the law was unambiguous that endowments mean 'property and money'.

"By interfering into Hindu affairs, the board's action is ultra vires the constitution. The procession belongs to the Chettiar. It’s a private affair of the Hindu community in Penang. The board should stay out from it," he said.

The chariot procession carryies a statue of Lord Subramaniyam from the Chettiar community’s spiritual home - Kovil Veedu in Lebuh Penang - to the Nattukottai Chettiar's Balathandayuthabani Kovil in Waterfall, traveling across major roads in George Town city.

Some 800,000 devotees and tourists throng the Waterfall vicinity annually to celebrate the festival, estimated to generate about RM20 million in business turnover in Penang.

The economically vibrant Chettiar community started the chariot procession hauled by cows some 150 years ago for the Thaipusam festival in Penang.

The chariot was upgraded from wood to silver in 1894.

Abolish the board

Balakrishnan called on the federal government to abolish the board and repeal the ordinance.

"People are fed up with board's unwarranted interference into Hindu affairs. The board is a government body established by British colonial rulers to safeguard and safe keep endowments, namely Hindu endowments.

"By interfering in the chariot procession, the board is misusing its position," he said, adding that he was contemplating legal action.

Asoghan urged the board to concentrate on developing the vast endowments under its safekeeping and stay out of religious matters.

The Chettiar community had started the tradition of the chariot procession even before the board was established.

"Legally, who is the board to demand for a change in the route?" he asked.

Echoing this, Suppayah questioned the board’s legal standing.

He pointed out that just because the term 'Hindu' had been included in its name, the board does not have the licence to meddle in religious affairs.

"It's merely a statutory board of trustees tasked to safeguard Hindu endowments," said Suppayah who served in the board for nearly two decades.

According to Narayanan, the Chettiar community is moved by the overwhelming support from the Hindu community who do not want any change in the route.

"Spiritually, they believe that a change would not be a good omen," he said.